Sermon Central
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Characteristics Of A Successful Believer Series
Contributed by Allan Kircher on Oct 21, 2013 (message contributor)
Summary: Successful believer is separated in his walk of life.
Pastor Allan Kircher
Shell Point Baptist Church
Oct 13th 2013
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SUCCESSFUL BELIEVER
See how this Book of Psalms opens with a benediction,
Who wants to be blessed of God?
• Most would answer "I do."
• Your presence/indicates your interest/God's blessing
• Your desire to be blessed of the Lord.
The First step in God's way of blessing is salvation.
• The message of the entire Bible.
• There is no formula/blessing does not begin with faith.
Faith:
• Foundation/Christian character/security of the soul.
• In Christ basis of all working, all sanctification, and all hope.
• Gives birth to prayer/trust/godly desire
• Finally to blessing from God.
• Psalm 1 assumes that salvation has already taken place
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There are many yardsticks by which men measure success.
• wealth, power, position, prestige
• All indicators of worldly success.
• However, measuring your spiritual success
• Your success as a Christian is a little more difficult.
Often, there is little tangible, visible evidence, which you can put your hands on to prove you are living a successful Christian life.
Generally, success/believer/more internal than external.
Small amount/external evidence we produce
• Result of much internal activity in our hearts and lives.
That is why it is difficult for God’s children, who live in a materialistic world, to gauge their success in their walk with God.
Thankfully Psalm 1 exists.
In this worthy doorkeeper to the psalms, we find insight into what
makes a believer successful.
As/plumb line/God’s Word moves alongside your life
• See how you measure up/God’s standard for successful Christian living.
• As we move through this Psalm, allow me to share with you The Characteristics of the Successful Believer.
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I. v. 1 THE PATH OF THE SUCCESSFUL BELIEVER
Successful believer is separated in his walk of life.
• Devil is active and will put obstacles in your way.
• He will use those who are his to hinder and hurt you.
1. He doesn’t Believe like the wicked
He/man who does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly.
• doesn’t listen to their counsel
• to the invitations to evil
• Hearing is turned a little higher!
• He takes wiser counsel/walks/commandments/Lord his God.
To him the ways of piety are paths of peace and pleasantness.
• Footsteps/ordered/Word of God
• Not by the cunning and wicked devices of carnal men.
Rich sign of inward grace when the outward walk is changed, and when ungodliness is put far from our actions.
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1. He doesn’t Behave like the wicked – 2 Cor. 5:17
• The old man has been put forever away!
• Stand not in the way of sinners.
• not mean standing against them
• But with them, agreeing with them.
• No, his company is of a choicer
• Although a sinner himself, he is now a blood-washed sinner, quickened by the Holy Spirit, and renewed in heart.
• Standing/rich grace/God/congregation/righteous
• He dares not herd with the multitude do evil.
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2. He doesn’t Belong with the wicked – 2 Cor. 6:17
• "nor sits in the seat of mockers"
• Feels out of place when surrounded/devil’s crowd.
• Finds no rest in the atheist's scoffings.
• Let others make a mock of sin, of eternity, of hell and heaven, and of the Eternal God
• Too much sense/God's presence/endure/hear His name blasphemed.
• seat/mocker may be very lofty/very near/gate of hell
• Flee from it/soon be empty/destruction swallow up/man who sits there.
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Watch out for these dangers. Notice the progression.
• The downward progress!
• Walking in the counsel of the ungodly. Accepting advice.
• Standing in the way of sinners: being a party to its ways.
• Sitting in the seat of the mockers adopting its attitudes.
When men are living in sin they go from bad to worse.
At first they merely walk/counsel/careless/ungodly
• the evil is rather practical than habitual
• after that, they become habituated to evil
• they stand/way of open sinners who willfully violate God's commandments
• if let alone, they go one step further
• Become themselves pestilent teachers and tempters of others, and thus they sit in the seat/mockers.
Successful believer realizes there is a vast difference between him and the world he was saved out of, and he lives accordingly!
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II. v. 2 THE PLEASURE OF THE SUCCESSFUL BELIEVER
The successful believer is genuinely/completely/love/Word/God.
A. The Word Has Captured His Full Affection – Delight = Pleasure!
• Word/God isn’t a Book of fables, myths and legends.
• To/child of God/very Word of Truth.
• It is God-breathed and infallible, inerrant/absolutely perfect.
• He loves it and he lives it
• Finding/pages all he needs to grow and prosper for Jesus.
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The value of the Word:
